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Informist, Monday, Nov. 24, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Equity Alert:Mkt ends dn after choppy trade ahead of Nifty 50 F&O expiry Tue

MUMBAI--1622 IST--Domestic benchmark equity indices closed lower Monday for the second straight session after investors aggressively wrote call contracts ahead of the expiry of the monthly derivative contract of the Nifty 50 on Tuesdat. The Nifty 50 index closed below the psychologically crucial level of 26000 for the first time in four sessions. Both indices were choppy for most of the session Monday. However, gains in some information technology stocks limited a further fall of the index. 

The Nifty 50 closed at 25959.50 points, down 108.65 points or 0.4%. The BSE Sensex closed at 84900.71 points, down 331.21 points or 0.4%. Around 76% of the Nifty 50 constituents ended lower. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down nearly 1% and was a major drag on the index. Additionally, a sharp fall in HDFC Bank in the last half-an-hour of the session also weighed on the index. 

Shares of most defence companies ended down, with Bharat Electronics falling over 3% and being the worst hit on the Nifty 50. This came after Hindustan Aeronautics' Tejas fighter plane crashed during an air show in Dubai on Friday, which claimed the life of one Air Force Wing Commander.

Metal stocks fell, with the Nifty Metal index down over 1%. JSW Steel was the biggest loser in the sectoral index, down over 3%. The Nifty Realty was the biggest laggard among sectoral indices, closing over 2% lower. Barring the Nifty IT, all other sectoral indices closed down 0.1-2.1%.

The Nifty IT index hit an over four-month high, likely on a resurgence in expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve after recent dovish remarks from Fed officials. The sectoral index gained after falling for two previous sessions. Tech Mahindra was the top gainer in the Nifty 50 index and ended up over 2%, extending gains for the fourth straight session. Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies were the other IT companies which ended 0.2-1.1% higher.

All the broader market indices were down 0.3–0.9%. India VIX, the fear gauge of Dalal Street, closed nearly 3% lower, easing tensions in the market, after ending 12% higher in the previous session.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Nifty 50 Nov ends at 2.60-point premium to spot index

MUMBAI--1550 IST--The November futures contract of the Nifty 50 closed at a premium of 2.60 points to the spot index Monday. Open interest in the contract fell 1.1% to 12.21 million, according to provisional data.

--Nifty 50 closed at 25959.50 points, down 108.65 points or 0.4% vs Fri

--Nifty 50 November closed at 25962.10 points, down 115.40 points or 0.4% vs Fri

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum change in open interest:

Call: 25950, Put: 25750

Nifty 50 options, expiring Tuesday, with maximum open interest:

Call: 26100, Put: 26000 

(Simran Rede)

Equity Alert: Most European mkts up; defence cos dn amid Ukraine peace talks

MUMBAI--1530 IST--Almost all equity indices in Europe were higher in early trade Monday, as hopes of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in December resurfaced, boosting trader sentiment. Defence companies were a major drag on indices across the region after the US-Ukraine meeting in Geneva hinted at peace retuning in Eastern Europe.

Traders cheered US Federal Reserve policymaker John Williams' comments on Friday, when he said interest rates could fall "in the near term", boosting the likelihood of a rate cut at the Fed's December meeting. Fed fund futures traders are pricing in a 74% chance of a 25-basis point cut by the central bank next month. This figure is sharply higher than the week-ago prediction of a 42% chance following remarks of other policymakers who had cautioned against further easing amid a high inflationary environment.

Shares of German pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Bayer AG rose over 10% as the company reported positive efficacy data from the Phase III study of its blood thinner Asundexian, a stroke prevention drug, CNBC reported. Shares of AstraZeneca were also in the green after the UK-listed drugmaker Friday said it will invest $2 billion in its biologic manufacturing plant in Frederick, Maryland as part of a wider $50 billion expansion of its US presence.

Europe's defence stocks extended their fall Monday amid ongoing talks between the US and Ukraine on a peace plan to end the Russian invasion. In a joint statement released after talks in Geneva on Sunday between American and Ukrainian delegations, the two sides said they had drafted a "refined peace framework" although they did not provide specifics, Reuters reported. Shares of German defence company Rheinmettal fell 4%, and Renk and Hensoldt fell 3% each. Shares of Swedish company Saab AB dropped over 2%. Overall, the Stoxx 600 Aerospace and Defense Index was about 1% lower. 

Following were the levels of major European indices at 1517 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Emkay Global downgrades ACC to 'sell', cuts target price 30%

MUMBAI--1518 IST--Emkay Global Financial Services has downgraded ACC's stock rating to 'sell' from 'buy' and reduced its target price 30% to INR 1,600, which is 13% lower than the current market price. The brokerage expects higher inter-group transactions as an impediment to the company's margins, working capital, capital expenditure, and further growth. At 1515 IST, shares of ACC were up over 5% at INR 1,930.50 on the National Stock Exchange.

ACC, which is a subsidiary of Ambuja Cements, saw a sharp rise in its share of goods traded in the last three years, which limited the company's product premiumisation and widened that gap in its margin with the parent company to 430 basis points from 235 bps when it was under the Holcim group. ACC is expected to see a rise in its traded goods as the consolidated entity aims to reduce the operational cost by around INR 500 per tonne by 2027-28 (Apr-Mar), the brokerage said. 

ACC's cash and cash-equivalent levels declined to around INR 8 billion in September, led by higher group trading which demands higher working capital requirements. Trade receivables of the company in the first half of FY26 rose by INR 24 billion, primarily driven by supplies of cement to Ambuja Cements under the master supply agreement. This resulted in a rise in the company's net working capital days to 57 as of September from 25 days a year ago and from 21 days in calendar year 2022, the broking firm said.

The company is likely to depend on its parent company for its clinker requirement, which will further widen the margin gap between both the Adani group entities. Barring clinker capacity addition, the company is likely to add 7% of cement capacity, Emkay Global said. ACC had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 11.19 billion for the quarter ended September on a revenue of INR 58.96 billion.  (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Indices in Asia close mixed; KOSPI gives up early gains

MUMBAI--1445 IST--Equity indices in Asia closed mixed Monday as South Korea's KOSPI retreated to lower levels after a sharp jump in early trade. Most indices in the Asian region were higher in early trade, buoyed by a higher probability of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at its next policy meeting. The Japanese cash equity market was closed for Labor Thanksgiving Day.   

South Korea's KOSPI closed 0.2% lower, falling for the second consecutive session, after a sharp decline Friday when the index was down almost 4%. Among the biggest laggards, shares of S-Oil tumbled over 9%, Ecopro fell more than 4%, and Korea Zinc was down more than 4%. Technology companies such as Samsung Electro-Mechanics and SK Square advanced nearly 4% each. HD Korea Shipbuilding gained a little over 3%.   

China's CSI 300 index ended marginally lower after a choppy session of trade amid a drop in domestic chip makers' shares. The US administration was considering greenlighting sales of Nvidia's H200 artificial intelligence chips to China, Reuters reported.  

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2% and online game operator NetEase was neary 6% higher. Search-engine giant Baidu advanced 4% after JPMorgan Chase upgraded its recommendation  on the stock to 'overweight' from 'neutral', citing AI and cloud as key business drivers, South China Morning Post reported. "Hong Kong stocks will get support from the continuity of the Fed's rate cut next year," Wu Xinkun, analyst at Guotai Haitong Securities, was quoted by the South China Morning Post. "Earnings from technology stocks at home and abroad may still exceed expectations, which would extend the AI (artificial intelligence) boom. Hong Kong is the market with the highest concentration of China's high-quality tech companies, and the rarity is a key driver for stock gains in the medium term." 

Fed fund futures traders are pricing in a 74% chance of a 25-basis points rate cut vy the Fed in December after US Federal Reserve governor John Williams flagged his support for an interest-rate cut. The possibility of a rate cut at the Fed's policy meeting was only 42% a week ago, according to data from the CME Fedwatch. 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 1455 IST:  

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices stay choppy; only IT, banking related indices in green

MUMBAI--1438 IST--Headline indices continued to be choppy. However, shares of banking and financial services companies, along with information technology stocks, were positive in a weak market. All other sectoral indices were lower. Over 69% of the companies traded on the NSE were in the red. 

At 1438 IST, the Nifty 50 was down around 39 points or 0.2% at 26028.90 points. The Sensex was down 91.72 points or 0.1% at 85140.20 points. Index heavyweights such as HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and ICICI Bank were up 0.2-1.0%. ICICI Bank recovered from its early fall. However, Reliance Industries was down 0.6%.

IT major Tech Mahindra was up nearly 3% and was the highest gainer in the 50-stock index. Tata Consultancy Services continued to gain after falling briefly earlier in the session. The US Court of Appeals has issued an adverse ruling in a matter related to the payment of $194.23 million in damages to Computer Sciences Corp., earlier known as DXC Technology Co. The matter against TCS is related to alleged misappropriation of trade secrets of Computer Sciences Corp. Coforge shares traded nearly 1% higher. The company has announced the launch of its integrated engineering and delivery platform Forge-X.

JSW Steel and Bharat Electronics were the worst Nifty 50 performers. Bharat Electronics was hit by a sell-off in defence related stocks, which pulled the Nifty Defence index down 2%. Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics were down 3% following a crash of a fighter plane Tejas during an air show in Dubai. The fighter plane is manufactured by the company for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. However, Hindustan Aeronautics has said the incident is an isolated occurrence and that it has no impact on its financials.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: Inventurus Knowledge up 5%, Nomura starts coverage with 'buy' 

MUMBAI--1320 IST--Shares of Inventurus Knowledge Solutions surged nearly 5% to an intraday high of INR 1,640 and snapped a four-day losing run, after brokerage firm Nomura initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating and a target price of INR 2,000. The target price on the stock is 28% higher from the previous close of INR 1,568.  

The stock is an attractive play on the US healthcare provider space, Nomura said, according to a report by NDTV Profit. The brokerage said that the US healthcare sector faces significant cost pressures and regulatory demands to reduce expenses, creating demand for integrated care-enablement platforms that will enable physicians to deliver better and more efficient care.
 

According to data referred by Nomura, Zinnov expects the outsourced healthcare provider-centric technology solutions market to grow approximately 12% compounded annual growth rate from 2023 to 2028, reaching $59 billion. However, the brokerage also flagged risks including weaker-than-expected mining of AQuity clients and poor returns from equity-linked investments, NDTV reported. 

As of 1327 IST, shares of the company traded over 4% higher at INR 1,632.70 on the NSE. Over 718,000 shares changed on the stock exchange as compared with 64,571 shares traded till the same time Friday. Two brokerage reports available on the company with Informist have a 'buy' rating on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,885.  (P. Madhu Kumar)

Equity Alert: Indices move in thin range; IT companies, banks limit losses

MUMBAI--1330 IST--Benchmark equity indices continued to move in a thin range during the first four hours of the trading session Monday. A rise in banks and information technology stocks helped keep the indices afloat amid the decline in Nifty 50 constituents Reliance Industries and defence major Bharat Electronics.

At 1319 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26090.10 points, up 21.95 points or 0.1%. The Sensex was at 85334.81 points, up 102.89 points or 0.1%, largely unchanged from an hour ago. Shares of IT companies were off their intraday highs but were still trading higher. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HCL Technologies, and Infosys were up 1-3%. Traders are likely pricing in another interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve at the central bank's upcoming policy meeting in December. A benchmark rate cut would allow more discretionary spending by consumers, thus bolstering the top line growth of Indian IT companies that derive a large chunk of revenue from US-based clients. The Nifty IT index rose 1% and had hit an over 4-month high earlier in the session.

Shares of Eicher Motors were up for the sixth consecutive session, during which they rose nearly 9%. The stock hit yet another record high of INR 7,280 Monday. Shriram Finance was up a little over 1%. The stock had earlier risen to its record high of INR 839.50.

Shares of Bharat Electronics fell more than 2% and the Nifty India Defence index declined 1.8%. Hindustan Aeronautics was the worst hit Nifty 200 company and lost more than 3%, hitting a one-month low and extending losses for the fourth consecutive session.

On Friday, the stock had fallen 3% after the company's flagship Tejas aircraft crashed at the Dubai Airshow. This will likely dampen the export potential of the indigenously built combat aircraft, a Reuters report said. The company Monday said the crash of a fighter jet was an "isolated occurrence" caused by "exceptional circumstances." Moreover, the company said this accident has no impact on business operations and financials.

The rise in index heavyweight HDFC Bank supported the Nifty 50 index from dipping in the negative territory. Shares of HDFC Bank rose 1% and ICICI Bank also traded higher while those of Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel were lower.

Broader market indices fared worse than their benchmark peers and were all in the red. The Nifty Smallcap 250 index fell 0.5% and was the worst hit among the broader indices. Most sectoral indices were in the red, with the Nifty Realty index falling over 1%.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Defence cos dn, Bharat Electronics among worst hit on Nifty 50

MUMBAI--1231 IST--Shares of most defence companies were down Monday, with Bharat Forge being the only exception in the Nifty Defence index. This follows the Hindustan Aeronautics' Tejas fighter plane crash during an air show in Dubai on Friday, which claimed the life of Air Force Wing Commander Namansh Syal. 

At 1230 IST, the Nifty Defence index was at 7948.10 points, down 168.30 points or 2.1%. The index underperformed the benchmark indices, which were flat. Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Hindustan Aeronautics, Astra Microwave Products, and BEML were the worst performers in the index, down 3-4%. Nifty 50 constituent Bharat Electronics was down 2%, trading lower for the third consecutive session.

The solitary gainer in the sectoral index, Bharat Forge, was up over 1%. Mishra Dhatu Nigam fell to an over-six-month low of INR 330.65. Hindustan Aeronautics reached an intraday low of INR 4,405, its lowest in over two months. Astra Microwave Products fell to its lowest in over three months at INR 944.10.

Among other stocks, Dynamatic Technologies, Zen Technologies, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers were down over 2% each. Mtar Technologies and Cyient DLM were down 1% each.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: ITI up 11% Mon after falling 8% in last six straight sessions

MUMBAI--1147 IST--Shares of ITI rose almost 11% to an intra-day high of INR 329.50 Monday after falling 8% in the last six straight sessions. The reason for the sharp jump in the stock could not be identified immediately. 

At 1056 IST, shares of the company were at INR 326.95, up 10% on the National Stock Exchange and were the top gainers in the Nifty 500. The company's market capitalisation rose by almost INR 28 billion to nearly INR 314 billion. 

So far Monday, 13 million shares of ITI have changed hands on the NSE, which is 79 times the 164,000 shares traded during the same time Friday. This is also sharply higher than the one-month daily average volume of 553,000 shares. For the quarter ended September, ITI had reported a net loss of INR 542.4 million on revenues of INR 5.43 billion. (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Nifty IT hits 4-month high, likely buoyed by US rate cut hopes

MUMBAI--1121 IST--Shares of information technology companies were higher Monday and the Nifty IT index hit an over four-month high, likely on a resurgence in expectations of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve after recent dovish remarks from Fed officials. Indian IT companies are heavily reliant on the US market for revenue and a rate cut in the country could lead to more discretionary spending from clients there, which would consequently translate to more contracts for these companies. 

The Nifty IT index rose nearly 2% intraday to 37554.35 points, its highest level since Jul. 17. It later came slightly off highs and was up over 1%. Shares of Tech Mahindra rose over 3% and those of Infoys, Wipro, and HCL Technologies rose 1% each. However, shares of Tata Consultancy Services traded flat. The US Court of Appeals issued a ruling against the company on Friday, ordering the technology major to pay $194.23 million as a penalty against alleged misappropriation of trade secrets of Computer Sciences Corp., previously known as DXC Technology Co. Among other IT companies, shares of Coforge, LTIMindtree, and Mphasis were up 1-2%.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams Friday said he expects the apex bank to lower the key interest rate as labour market weakness was a bigger economic threat than higher inflation. Moreover, Boston Fed President Susan Collins Saturday said she expects the US central bank to cut its interest rate target next month despite risks to both inflation and job mandates. "I do see reasons to be hesitant... my own view is that policy is currently in the kind of mildly restrictive range after the 50-basis-point easing that we did in September and October, and that's appropriate," she was quoted as saying by CNBC.

Fed fund futures are pricing in a 69% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut by the apex bank in its December meeting. A week ago, traders were evenly split regarding the Fed's monetary policy trajectory going forward, data from CME Fedwatch showed.  (Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: HG Infra rises 6%; co lowest bidder for metro rail project

MUMBAI--1114 IST--Shares of H.G. Infra Engineering rose 6% to an intraday high of INR 916.30 after the company, jointly with Kalpataru Projects International, was declared as the lowest bidder for a metro rail project in Maharashtra for a cost of INR 14.15 billion. 

At 1113 IST, shares of the company came off highs and were up 1.2% at INR 874 on the National Stock Exchange. Around 878,000 shares were traded so far Monday, which is almost 37 times the number of shares traded during the same period Friday and also sharply higher than the three-month average volume of more than 85,000. 

The bid of the two companies' joint venture was lower than the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp.'s estimate of INR 14.24 billion. H.G. Infra has a 40% stake in the joint venture and Kalpataru Projects has the remaining 60%. For the September quarter, the company had reported a consolidated net profit of almost INR 522 million on a revenue of INR 9.05 billion. 

The project involves design and construction of an elevated metro viaduct spanning 20.52 kilometres between UG Ramp and Balkum Naka, which should be executed within 36 months. It also includes the depot approach viaduct and three special spans for the Thane Integral Ring Metro Project.

Of the 13 brokerage reports available on the company with Informist, 12 have a 'buy' call on the stock with an average target price of INR 1,495. The remaining one has a 'hold' rating at a target price of INR 920.  (Adhithya Aji)

Equity Alert: Indices rise again after slight dip post open, defence cos dn

MUMBAI--1100 IST--Headline equity indices rose again after being choppy in the first half hour of trade Monday. They had briefly slipped into the red before recovering from the day's losses. Optimism in the global markets after renewed hopes of a federal rate cut which likely aided information technology stocks led to the rise in indices. However, the threat of a weakening rupee likely soured the investor sentiment. Investors have been selling shares of defence companies since open.  

At 1105 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26105.50 points, up 37.35 points or 0.1%. The Sensex was at 85352.03 points, up 120.11 points or 0.1%. Heavyweights HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, and Infosys prevented the 50-stock index from slipping into losses.
 

The Nifty IT Index was the best performing sectoral index and was up over 1%. The index was up after two straight sessions of losses. Shares of large-cap companies Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and HCL Technologies were up 1-3%. Mid- and small-cap companies such as Coforge, Mphasis, and Persistent Technologies also traded slightly higher. Tata Consultancy Services, however, traded largely flat. The US appeals court issued an adverse ruling against the company in a matter related to the payment of $194.23 million in damages to Computer Sciences Corp., earlier known as DXC Technology Co. 

Hindustan Aeronautics was down nearly 4% and was the worst performer in the Nifty 200 after one of the company's Tejas fighter planes crashed during an air show in Dubai. Other defence companies traded lower as well with Data Patterns (India), Cochin Shipyard and BEML down 2-3%.  (Akshat Saksena)

Equity Alert: Benchmark indices rise on positive global cues; IT stocks gain

MUMBAI—0950 IST--Domestic benchmark equity indices opened higher Monday, mainly driven by gains in information technology stocks. The indices mirrored gains in other Asian indices at open, which rose tracking gains in the US market on late Friday. US indices had opened higher on the back of improved possibilities of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve. However, these indices were choppy later and even slipped into the red briefly, but rose again. 

At 1010 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26120.10 points, up 51.95 points, or 0.2%. The BSE Sensex was at 85375.95 points, up 144.03 points, or 0.2%. Barring the Nifty Smallcap 250 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 indices, all other broader market indices opened higher.

IT stocks were the biggest gainers in the Nifty 50. The Nifty IT was up over 1%, with all its constituents opening higher in the early trade. Largecaps such as Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Wipro were the top gainers, up over 1-2%. 

Investors were bullish on state-owned banks in early trade and the Nifty PSU Bank gained 0.6%. The index had hit a record high of 8624.80 points last week following reports that the finance ministry was working on a strategy for the next round of mergers among PSU banks. Canara Bank, Bank Of India, UCO Bank traded over 1% each. Metal stocks also rose in early trade, with the Nifty Metal up 0.2%.

Among stocks, H.G. Infra Engineering was up nearly 4%, after it has been declared the lowest bidder by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp. for a project that involves design and construction of an elevated metro viaduct. The company had placed the bid jointly with Kalpataru Projects International. ITI's shares were up 10% in early trade. The stock is up after six straight sessions of losses and had fallen 8% during this period. (Arundathi A R)

Equity Alert: Most Asian mkts up on renewed optimism of US rate cut in Dec

MUMBAI--0821 IST--Most equity indices in Asia were higher in early trade Monday, tracking gains on Wall Street Friday. South Korea's KOSPI led the gains, while indices in mainland China were slightly lower. Traders were optimistic due to renewed hopes of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve after dovish remarks by the New York Federal Reserve president. The stock market in Japan is closed on Monday for a public holiday. 

US Fed policymaker John Williams Friday said that interest rates could fall in the near term, boosting the likelihood of further ease in monetary policy in December. "We expect another Fed cut in December, followed by two more moves in March and June 2026 that take the funds rate to 3-3.25%," Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, was quoted by CNBC as saying. Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 69% chance of a 25-basis point rate cut, a sharp increase from the 44% likelihood priced in a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

South Korea's Kospi was up 1% and technology players took the early lead. Shares of Samsung Electronics rose 3.6% and Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 5%. Investment company SK Square rose a little over 5%. 

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1%. Shares of logistics group Qube rose 18% after Macquarie Asset Management made an offer of around $7.49 billion to acquire the company, CNBC reported. Shares of BHP were higher in early trade after the world's biggest listed miner said it had dropped plans for a potential tie-up with Anglo American following initial talks with the London-listed rival's board, Mint reported. Shares of its peers Rio Tinto and Fortescue rose 2% and 1.4%, respectively, and the broader mining sub-index was 1% higher.

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0806 IST:

(Eshitva Prakash)

Equity Alert: Indices likely to open higher, Nifty 50 may hit record high soon

MUMBAI--0759 IST--Although expectations of the Nifty 50 hitting a record high remain intact, the market could see some softness in the coming sessions on slight profit-booking and concerns about a weak rupee. On Monday, benchmark equity indices are likely to open a tad higher, supported by positive global cues and early gains across Asian markets. This week, investors will continue to track developments on the US-India trade deal and GDP data for the September quarter from the statistics ministry on Friday.

"Gift Nifty is indicating a positive open for the benchmark domestic markets," Vipin Kumar, assistant vice president – technical and derivatives at Globe Capital Market, said. "Despite a profit taking last Friday, the chart structure for Nifty (50) index is strong, and we are hopeful of a new high in the near term," he said while adding, "However, a close below 26000 spot levels might lead it towards a fresh round of consolidation in the 26250-25750 spot zone."

The November contract of the GIFT Nifty indicated that indices are likely to open higher Monday. At 0749 IST, the contract was at 26160.50 points, down 30 points from its previous close. The index was around 92 points higher than the Nifty 50's close Friday. The 50-stock index had closed at 26068.15 points on Friday, down 124 points or 0.5%. The BSE Sensex closed at 85231.92 points, down 400.76 points or 0.5%.

On Friday, foreign investors turned net sellers in the Indian stock market and offloaded shares worth INR 17.66 billion. Domestic investors continued to be net buyers and bought stocks worth INR 13.62 billion.

US benchmark indices closed higher Friday as bets of an interest rate cut by the US Federal Open Market Committee in December increased after a voting member hinted that the rate-setting committee could still trim rates without jeopardising the inflation goal. Asian indices were also higher in early trade Monday, tracking the gains in the US market. (Gopika Balasubramanium)

Equity Alert: US indices end higher Fri after Fed official's rate cut views

MUMBAI--0756 IST--Equity indices in the US ended higher Friday as chances of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve rebounded after dovish remarks by New York Fed President John Williams John Williams. A higher-than-expected unemployment rate Thursday also boosted bets of a rate cut at the apex bank's meeting in December. Recent jitters around artificial intelligence-related stocks weighed on benchmark indices on a weekly basis.  

"I view monetary policy as being modestly restrictive, although somewhat less so than before our recent actions," Williams was quoted by CNBC. "Therefore, I still see room for a further adjustment in the near term to the target range for the federal funds rate to move the stance of policy closer to the range of neutral, thereby maintaining the balance between the achievement of our two goals." 

While Williams said the US Fed could still cut rates in the near term, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said they should be left on hold while the central bank assesses the effect of current rates on the economy. "Part of the reason for the move today is that Williams was seen as one of the hawkish leans, so the market could perceive it representing someone stepping over the line towards the dovish point of view," Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Amid the rate cut optimism, the US unemployment rate rose to 4.4% in September, the highest level in four years, against 4.3% in August, according to data from the US Labour Department. This cemented the US Fed's efforts to tighten the labour market, one of its measures to keep inflation under control. Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 69% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut, a sharp increase from the 44% likelihood a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

The three major US equity indices were sharply lower last week. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell almost 2% on week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.7% last week.

Following are the closing levels of US indices Friday:

(Eshitva Prakash)

End

US$1 = INR 89.23

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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